11 O'clock
by Miss Evil Muffins
Summary: Please don't let it all vanish at midnight. Tsukikane, plus some Hinami-chan cuteness for good measure.
1. PM

11 o'clock

"It's the Flower Man!" Hanami exclaimed excitedly from the bundle of blankets on the couch before letting lose a series of hacking coughs.

"For mon cherie." Tsukiyama flourished a large bouquet toward the little ghoul who's pale face lit up in delight, despite the dark circles under her eyes.

"Thank you," Hinami smiled weakly.

"Look inside!" the man urged.

The girl took the flowers and parted them. A fair-skinned severed man was at the center of the bouquet. Hinami's eyes turned to black briefly before another round of coughs quashed her appetite, quickly turning her eyes back to normal.

"For later," he explained. "It's important to keep your strength up. "How are you feeling?" the man asked her with concern.

"I'll be okay," she coughed again, as she placed the bouquet and appendage on the coffee table. "Onii-chan is going to read to me!"

"Who let you in? It's eleven at night." Kaneki interrupted as he entered the room, book in hand. "Hinami-chan, I told you not to let any strange people in here."

"Non, Kaneki-kun, I let myself in. Do not blame the mademoiselle."

"How?" had Kaneki been so busy tending Hinami that he had left the door unlocked? It showed no signs of having been forced open.

"I may have used my spare key."

Kaneki raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you have a spare key?"

"I may have borrowed your's while you were sleeping the other day and had a copy made. How else can I rescue you if an intruder came in through the window?"

Kaneki made a mental note to change the locks once this thing with Hinami was over. He shrugged and sat down on the couch beside the small girl, opening up the book.

"Would you care to move closer to Hinami-chan?" Tsukiyama requested.

"Why?" Kaneki asked, giving a pointed look to the empty armchair near the couch.

"Because if Kaneki-kun catches cold, then I will enjoy the honor of nursing him back health. Tres bien!" Tsukiyama scooted himself onto the couch besides Kaneki without waiting for the appropriate amount of room to be made.

Kaneki slid nearer to Hinami anyway, if only to not have his thigh be pressed against Tsukiyama's. "You mean that I'll be easier to eat if I'm incapacitated."

_Well, that too,_ Tsukiyama thought to himself. He gave a little shrug.

"Maybe you gave her allergies with all these damn plants you keep leaving everywhere," Kaneki accused half-heartedly. It was true, each time the man came to the apartment, he brought flowers. They were now in every corner of the room, as if a rainforest had thrown up. Some were potted, some in vases, but all well tended. Kaneki suspected that Hinami had been taking care of them, because he certainly hadn't been.

Hinami spread a corner of one of the multitude of blankets over Kaneki's lap.

The boy patted her head, as a fond smile found its way to his face. "I didn't even know that ghouls could catch cold," he mused.

"It mostly happens in the younger ones, but they recover fairly quickly. I came down with something once as a child. I remember my parents giving me a book of ghoul folklore to keep me entertained. It was in French, so I had to work hard to understand it. It kept me occupied for days," Tsukiyama reminisced.

"Your parents didn't read it to you?" Kaneki's expression suggested that not being read to was something akin to having not been allowed to breathe.

"They were very busy people," Tsukiyama became wistful for a moment before asking, "Kaneki-kun, is it alright with you if I tell the young lady the story? I still remember some of my favorites from the book."

Kaneki looked to Hinami cuddled up beside him. "If it's alright with her."

The girl nodded, so the man began:

"Once upon a time, there was a little girl who was princess of all the ghouls in the land. Her life was very carefree and she wanted for not, until one day word reached the castle of trouble in the human realm- there was terrible drought and famine, causing the humans to die off at alarming rates. The only way for the royal family to survive was to begin eating their subjects, their fellow ghouls. The princess eventually grew to be queen and had two children of her own. Unfortunately, the queen had grown sickly from her poor diet and died soon after. Her husband, the king, soon remarried. However, the young new queen was frightened of the young prince, for she knew that he would become king one day and have more power than her. So, one day, she offered her sweet young stepson a very large and beautiful treasure box. Inside, she told him, was the last piece of human meat that she had been saving for someone special. When the boy opened the box and peered deep inside, the queen slammed the lid, severing his little head. She took the head from the box, and dressed it in a wig. She then plucked out the eyeballs, rendering it unrecognizable and served the head on a golden platter to the little stepdaughter-"

"What the hell? You can't tell a little girl a story like that! Besides, isn't that the exact same story as The Juniper Tree?"

A soft cooing came from the bundle of blankets nest to Kaneki. Hinami had thankfully fallen asleep, snoring softly from her cold.

"Tres bien, Kaneki-kun! I should have expected you to know that story. It is true, the two stories are similar, but you must remember that ghouls have always lived alongside humans, so it's really only natural that our stories would be passed back forth. Besides, was it really so shocking? Ghouls can feed on each other, you know?" Tsukiyama found it sweet that Kaneki was still trying to shelter the girl who ate human flesh on a regular basis.

"Don't remind me," Kaneki grimaced, inching once again closer to Hinami, increasing the gap between himself and the other man even more.

"Was it so different from whatever story you were going to tell?" Tsukiyama glanced at the book that remained on Kaneki's lap. "Andersen's? I always found his stories far more cruel than Grimm's."

"Snow White and the prince made the queen dance in red-hot slippers in Grimm's." Kaneki appeared to be speaking to the book cover rather than Tsukiyama.

"True, but she was the villain. The Little Mermaid and the Match Girl both die in Andersen's, even though they were the heroines."

"What about the Wolf? He just needed to eat. He ate people, just like we do. I'm sure he thought of the Huntsman as the villain. It was his own fault, of course. He never should have let his guard down." Kaneki opened up the book and began to leaf through it.

"_Le Chaperon Rouge_, huh…"

Somehow, Tsukiyama was able to take the hint that Kaneki had finished speaking with him. Ignoring Kaneki's supposed moral of Little Red Ridinghood, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the couch.

The image of Kaneki and Hinami cuddled together lingered behind his eyes.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Kaneki pick up a book in quite some time, even though it had once been a beloved hobby of his. Tsukiyama found himself wishing that he could have spent more time with the _dolce_ Kaneki, the one who was wide-eyed and innocent and loved books. What would have happened if he could have taken Kaneki on that bookstore date, the one that Rize had so cruelly promised. Not that he had done any better, luring Kaneki into that church. How was he to know that simply spending time with the young man would be nearly as delicious as scent of his blood?

He opened his eyes and once again looked over to his young friends. They were still there. Kaneki had finally settled on a page in the fairytale book, while Hinami still napped against him, breathing stuffily.

At rare peaceful times such as this, Tsukiyama wondered if one night, the clock would strike midnight and they would vanish, leaving him alone. What would he do then? He had been so comfortable in his old routine before Kaneki, but now, somehow, nothing before then felt quite real. The restaurant, his friendship with Rize, it all felt like something from a dream, or a storybook being read to him about someone else's life. He had never felt concern quite like this for Rize. Then again, he hadn't wanted to eat Rize either. She would have been far too bitter, eating just anything she found lying about the way she did. Then again, she must have had some taste after all, if she had set her sights on Kaneki.

If Kaneki were gone, Tsukiyama clearly would no longer be able to eat him. Anyone would be concerned if the meal they had craved for so long could be taken away, and of course, if something were to happen to the little girl, Kaneki would be even more destroyed than ever. He would probably taste awful in such a state. So of course then it was all to Tsukiyama's benefit to care for Hinami as well, right? He could certainly put up with that silly nickname from the girl if it was for Kaneki's sake. He had never had a nickname before, come to think of it. People had certainly called him things that he couldn't repeat in front of the young lady, but they were a far-cry from frivolous nicknames.

Motion from the other end of the couch dragged him back to the present.

Kaneki's head nodded for a second time, eyes closing briefly before snapping back open and skimming the page for where he had left off.

"Kaneki-kun, why don't you get some rest?" Tsukiyama suggested gently. "As part of my duties in being your sword, I can watch over the young lady. What's precious to you is precious to me."

Kaneki remained silent, taking one hand off the book to stroke Hinami's hair. It appeared that she may be awakening at the touch, but she instead only shifted to rest her head on the boy's lap, eyes remaining shut.

Kaneki was now holding the book awkwardly in one hand, since resting it in his lap was now out of the question.

Tsukiyama plucked the book away and placed it on the coffee table. "Well, since it looks like you can no longer leave, how about you relax right here. I thought of a better story to tell this time."

"Hinami can't hear you right now, you know."

"Non, Kaneki-kun, this story is just for you:

Once upon a time there was a king who had all the good food in the world, and all the company he could ever need would attend his parties each night. One day he tried to take over the neighboring kingdom belonging to a _dolce_ young prince. However, somehow or another, tables turned and the prince took the king's land instead. Instead of killing the king, the kind prince allowed him to stay as his servant. Even though things were very different for the former king, he was pleased to be of service to the prince, who was handsome and strong. However the prince still had to defend his land from many other invaders. The servant became very afraid that the prince would never come back. He didn't know what he what he would ever do without the delicious prince-"

"That's enough. If you're my 'servant', go make me some coffee, then," Kaneki mumbled

"As you wish." Tsukiyama obliged.

He returned from the kitchenette with a mug after sometime. It took a certain finesse to make instant to a standard that he could so much as even consider serving to his favorite prey. You are what you eat, and eventually Tsukiyama would technically be tasting whatever the boy had been consuming whenever the time became right to eat Kaneki in the future. Not for some time yet, of course.

"Shh!" Hinami was now awake, wriggling out from under the covers and replacing them around Kaneki.

Clearly, the coffee had not arrived soon enough because the boy's eyes were now closed, his head slumped at an uncomfortable angle. A frown still sat upon his face. Tsukiyama wanted to peel that frown off, like removing a mask at a masquerade party and revealing the special guest that everyone knew was there all along- the old Kaneki, the one that was haunted so terribly, tainting his sweet, sweet insides.

"Are you feeling any better, Young Lady?" he asked, setting the cup down near the severed hand. Someone should really put in the fridge…

"Much better! I think I just needed a nap." Indeed, her face was looking a touch pinker than before. "I'm feeling good enough to take care of Onii-chan now! He needs a pillow." She frowned at Tsukiyama as if he could have been expected to make coffee and fetch a pillow simultaneously. Suddenly on a mission, Hinami marched toward the bedrooms.

Tsukiyama's attention returned to the boy. It appeared that Kaneki needn't have been concerned about getting too near to the girl, because it was clear that he had already caught the cold. Cold sweat glistened on his skin. Tsukiyama could smell it's sweet bouquet.

The girl was still out of the room and Kaneki seemed to be out like a dead man. Maybe just one little sniff wouldn't hurt.

Tsukiyama carefully sat down on the couch, so as not to jar the boy, and leaned in, closing his eyes and inhaling. The scent of Kaneki's sweat while ill was somewhat different than during training sessions. Still tempting, but somewhat watered down. Probably a delicate flavor… Tsukiyama felt his eyes threatening to turn from behind his lids. Just a tiny taste wouldn't hurt, he'd never know. Just a quick swipe of the tongue, perhaps, like testing the temperature of coffee before sipping. Just as his mouth began to open wide millimeters above the somewhat clammy skin, a little voice came from the entrance to the living room. Tsukiyama blinked rapidly, hoping his eyes would take the hint and change back.

"Sorry, I took so long! I changed the pillow cases first," said a large stack of pillows that appeared to have grown feet and pilfered socks from Hinami.

The mound waddled over to the couch and dumped the pillows on the unoccupied third cushion.

"Flower Man," Hinami's hands were on her hips in an adorable attempt to be intimidating. "Were you going eat Onii-chan?"

Even though she couldn't have seen past the pillows, she could still smell when another was feeding nearby.

"Moi? Non! Never! I was simply going to…give him a goodnight kiss! Like so-" He pressed his lips to Kaneki's cheek, it's feverish warmth forcing Tsukiyama to muster everything he had to keep his eyes from turning once more.

"…My mommy never kissed me for that long when she was saying goodnight."

"Oh, well, that is-" Tsukiyama took a sip from Kaneki's unclaimed coffee mug in a feeble bid for time.

"Flower Man, are you in love with Onii-chan?" the girl asked, point blank.

Tsukiyama could feel the coffee suddenly requesting to exit via his nose. He forced it down, deciding that a fit of coughing was slightly more dignified than becoming an impromptu living coffee pot.

"Your Onii-chan is my best friend! It is only natural that I try my best to take good care of him."

"Am I your friend?"

"Oui! But of course!" Tsukiyama began to regain his composure. Somehow, it had become much like a set of car keys these days- harder and harder to find.

"Um, can I have a goodnight kiss, then?" Hinami asked, hands knitted behind her small back, eyes looking somewhere on the floor.

"Why, bien sur!"

Hinami took this foreign gibberish to mean 'yes' and moved nearer to where the man was seated on the couch. He leaned forward, and pecked her forehead, hoping she wouldn't notice that he didn't linger as long as he did with Kaneki.

"What the hell are you doing?" came a groggy growl from the neighboring couch cushion. The motion and noise had finally woken Kaneki to the sight of the Gourmet's mouth far too close for comfort to his precious 'little sister'.

"Ah! Are we jealous, Kaneki-kun?"

Tsukiyama could see the clock on the wall past Kaneki's head.

11:55.

_Please, never let midnight come. Don't let this story end. Please, don't take the prince from me._

_End part one..._


	2. AM

"Just how many things did you make her try on? Don't they usually put a limit on that?" Kaneki asked as he put another greeting card back on the rack with a frown. The punch line had been about cake again. It was the 15th card he'd had time to read since Tsukiyama had ushered Hinami into the department store dressing room, mountain of clothing piled in her small arms.

"It's the young lady's reward for getting over her cold so quickly!" Tsukiyama declared.

"She better not come out of there looking like you…" Kaneki's frown only deepened as he picked up another card, but put it down again before even reading the inside message.

It was about an hour before noon the day after Hinami and Kaneki had both came down with colds. They both recovered quickly and Tsukiyama had taken them both out on a 'date' in order to celebrate. Kaneki had parked himself in front the greeting card display as Hinami tried on the heap of dresses that Tsukiyama had picked out.

He hadn't particularly wanted to come along on this misadventure, but Hinami did and Kaneki felt the need to keep an eye on her. If nothing else just to make sure that Tsukiyama didn't force the girl into some sort of neon suit-dresses with silver leggings. One color-clashing nightmare of a companion was more than enough.

Tsukiyama joined Kaneki in perusing the greeting cards.

"Are you looking for a card for anyone in particular?" he asked, flipping one open. He didn't think that any of their birthdays were coming up.

The younger man shrugged. "I've always enjoyed reading them. They tell little stories, I guess. I mean, the better ones do at least. I used to try to imagine the type of person someone would give them to."

"Hmm. They are surprisingly amusing. I can see why humans would enjoy giving them."

"Ghouls don't give cards?"

"Maybe some do. I never really had anyone to give to one to, so I haven't paid attention. I wouldn't be opposed to receiving one, though."

"Then buy yourself one."

Tsukiyama gave a laugh. "I think that would be missing the point."

"Onii-chan? Flower Man? Does this look alright?"

Hinami was clutching her original clothing in a ball against the pink sundress she was now wearing. Lace in the shape of little daisies adorned the hem.

"That's actually really nice, Hinami-chan!" Kaneki was surprised- the girl looked completely normal.

"Yes, c'est magnifique! Did you expect anything less from my refined tastes, Kaneki-kun? Of course, anything that this fine mademoiselle dons would look like a dream on her!"

Hinami was beginning to turn a little pink, probably more due to embarrassment than flattery.

"Go put your other clothes back on and we'll get going," Kaneki suggested.

"Nonsense! She can wear it out! Today is a special day. A lady should look her best, so that she may feel her best!" he flourished dramatically. "And what about you, Kaneki-kun? Isn't there anything you'd like to pick out? Anything you want, it's on me."

Kaneki's eyes wandered to the racks of clothing. "No, I'm fine."

"Non! That will not do at all!" Tsukiyama strode over to the nearest rack and began shuffling through dress shirts, occasionally tossing ones that were apparently offending to his particular sensibilities on the ground behind him, as Hinami diligently scrambled to hang them up again.

Several of the rejected choices were actually not half bad, Kaneki thought, so logically whatever Tsukiyama decided on would be completely unwearable. On the other hand, he did choose something decent for Hinami…

"Ah! Perfetto!" The man triumphantly held out a white shirt with black collar and sleeves. "This will suit Kaneki-kun perfectly! What do you think, Little Lady?"

"I think he'll look very cool," the girl agreed with a smile.

"See? We can't disappoint a lady now can we? I'll get you a few more things and you can go try everything on."

* * *

Kaneki now found himself in the dressing room with a pile of clothes that were for the most part fairly agreeable. Sorting through, he found the black and white shirt, a vest that was at first glance similar to the one he wore at Anteiku, black pants (I bit tighter than he usually preferred), and a tie, which was a floral patterned affair, earning itself a spot of honor on the hook for items that the customer would not be purchasing. Tie aside, it seemed that Tsukiyama only picked out hideous outfits for himself, while his taste in clothes for other seem to suit them fairly well.

The pants were surprisingly comfortable, though Kaneki decided not to think about how Tsukiyama knew his size so well. The shirt went on without a hitch as well, then came time for the vest.

Kaneki wasn't sure he had ever seen so many buttons on anything in his life. Were they all meant to be used, or were some simply for show? He experimentally began to undo a few. That went well enough until he reached one that would not budge. Deciding that he didn't want to force it and ruin the entire thing, he attempted to work the vest on over his head instead.

"Ow! Crap…" There was a sharp tugging on his scalp as some of his hair became firmly lodged around one of the buttons.

"Kaneki-kun, is everything okay in there?"

Kaneki wondered how anyone could achieve such a thorough mixture of smug condescension and genuine concern.

"I'm fine."

"You don't really sound fine. Open up and I'll come in and help you."

The door creaked open a crack, revealing a tuft of white hair sticking out of a black vest. "Just fix this one thing and leave. Do not touch anything else." Kaneki tried his best to sound menacing, but it was difficult to take a talking vest very seriously.

Tsukiyama shut the door behind him while stifling a snicker. "You know, you could have just ripped it apart and had me pay for it anyway. You know that I would have."

His hands were very gentle as he worked to untangle Kaneki's hair. Considering that this was the man who had once snapped his arm like a twig, Kaneki had to admit that ever since Tsukiyama had started attempting to make up for his misdeeds, he had been exceedingly gentle the few times Kaneki had let his guard down around him. Hinami had tattled about the kiss the on the cheek while Kaneki was napping last night. The touch had been so light, he hadn't felt a thing. There was also the time Tsukiyama had caught him when he had slipped in the rain a few weeks ago. He had gracefully set him upright with a smile and told him to be more careful. Even though a scarped knee would heal itself in seconds, he had said that he didn't want to see Kaneki hurt anymore.

…It sounded like the words of someone who didn't want their dinner dropped on the floor. Tsukiyama was exactly like those children who would pet the calves during their fieldtrip to the farm, and then go straight home to a steak dinner. It would be nice to be able to be able to have complete trust in the other man, someone who brought him books and made him good coffee and looked at him with kindness. Unfortunately, little good came of trusting anyone these days. Kaneki could still occasionally glimpse a flash of hunger hidden behind the tender expressions and kind words. It wasn't that he didn't think that he would be able to kill Tsukiyama if things went sour- in fact, he was positive that he could. He simply just didn't want to allow an opportunity for that situation to arise, period. Tsukiyama was competent as a 'sword' and Hinami seemed like him well enough, so there was definitely merit in keeping him around. Things would certainly be much quieter without him around, and Kaneki wasn't quite sure how he would feel about that. If he didn't let his guard down, then there would never be a need to dispose of him. When one has a dagger beneath their pillow, it just wouldn't do to rest too peacefully and accidently hurt one's self on the sharp blade, now would it?

"You're very quiet. Could it be that you enjoy having me play with your hair?" Tsukiyama finally freed the lock of hair from the offending button, all without pulling out a single strand. "I must say, your hair is very soft!" he chanced giving the fluffy mop a final smoothing before also adjusting the eye patch that had shifted out of place. His fingertips were warm and somewhat soft for a man's.

He finally seemed to decide that he had tried the boy's patience enough, stepping back to let Kaneki pull the vest on properly.

"Shut up... I'm just tired from being sick the past two days," he replied, reaching behind himself to fasten the buckle on the back of the garment.

"Non, non, that won't do at all! You're leaving it far too loose. It's meant to be worn fitted!"

Apparently Kaneki had been too permissive in letting the other man touch his hair and face for an unnecessarily long amount of time, because Tsukiyama now seemed take this as a cue that standing behind Kaneki and helping to dress him was no longer deemed as 'unnecessary'.

"I told you not to touch anything else!" Kaneki slapped the intruding hand away.

"Tsk, tsk, Kaneki-kun! Did by chance not see how lovely Hinami-chan is looking today? How can the lady look her very best if she is accompanied by someone who can't admit that they are having difficulty with a buckle?"

"…Just make it quick," Kaneki warned, before adding: "And do it from the front. It's bad enough that I can't see what your hands are doing back there."

The man obliged, coming around to face Kaneki and reaching his hands around to work on the back of the garment.

"If you wanted a hug, Kaneki-kun, you could have just asked."

Despite the soft expression on the other man's face, Kaneki could still feel himself tensing as the vest was pulled tighter around his torso. Tsukiyama did seem to genuinely enjoy helping him and Kaneki was given no reason to doubt that. Unfortunately, people could change their minds very quickly about that kind of thing, couldn't they?

His contemplation was broken by an odd sensation in his back, on other side of the buckle- something akin to a tingling but not wholly unpleasant.

"What the hell?" he hissed, pulling away as far as he could given the cramped space.

Tsukiyama looked surprised. "Hmm…? Oh, your kakuhou? I'm impressed you felt that! I only just brushed it. It might be the difference in our physiologies," he mused.

The door to the next dressing room over shut loudly, accompanied by the sound of footsteps.

"Just…don't do weird stuff like that in a public place," Kaneki scolded as he let himself out of the dressing room, Tsukiyama following like a puppy.

As they headed over to the book section to pick up Hinami, Kaneki's walking slowed. …He had told Tsukiyama '_no' _hadn't he? He hadn't just made it sound like touching was a-okay as long as it was in private, because he knew much better than to make things sound so provocative, right? Tsukiyama had to be given no uncertain terms when it came to these kind of things. The man was practically the poster child for 'give him an inch and he'll take a mile'.

"Onii-chan! I made a friend while you were gone!" A gleeful Hinami met them at the front of the store's modest book section, accompanied by another girl who looked to be around the same age, carrying a camera around her neck. "This is Chie-onee-chan!"

Tsukiyama stepped forward with a smirk, leaning down to speak to the short girl. "Oh my! A lost child! Just where is your mother, little girl?" He then straightened back up, dramatically scanning the crowd with hand held above his eyes as a visor.

"Cut that out, you big jerk! How come you haven't been returning my texts? You didn't even tell me you had such an adorable friend!" She gestured at Hinami. "I hope you haven't been doing anything creepy around her…"

"Moi? Never! You know what a gentleman I am!"

Kaneki interrupted. "You _know_ her?"

What he had really wanted to say was something more along the lines of: 'You know a human and you didn't eat her?', but that would certainly not be prudent in the middle of a department store on the weekend.

"Oui! The little mouse and I go way back! Little Mouse, please meet my very dear friend, Kaneki-kun." Tsukiyama put his arm around Kaneki's shoulder, beaming with so much pride, it was as if he were announcing that he was personal friends with the prime minister, rather than a short boy a few years younger than himself.

Kaneki shook him off with a grimace. "We're not friends."

How old was this girl, anyway, to be 'old friends' with someone Tsukiyama's age? She was so very tiny, any ghoul probably could've managed to eat her in one bite.

"Ooh! So that means you're…_you know_…" She waggled an eyebrow suggestively.

Tsukiyama began to nod his head enthusiastically, while at the same time Kaneki politely informed her: "We're business associates."

"Uh-_huh_." Chie was clearly yet to be convinced. "So, what are you guys shopping for?"

"We were just going to pick out some shoes for this fine gentleman and young lady, now that their outfits are mostly in order. It's just not a complete ensemble without the shoes, as everyone knows."

"Hmm…" Chie eyed Hinami up and down. "You did an okay job so far, but I'm not sure we can trust you to get the shoes right too. The dress might've just been a fluke, you know? I'll pick out something for Hinami-chan, and you can pick out something nice for your 'special friend'."

Hinami was whisked away to the ladies' shoe section before anyone could protest.

Kaneki turned to fix a glare on Tsukiyama. "She better be trustworthy."

"Why, of course!" the man put a dramatic palm to his chest, "You think I would associate with unsavory types?"

The glare only intensified. "How much does she know?"

"Everything. She's known about…my particular choice in menu since we were in high school. The young lady will have a maginfique time with the little mouse! Come, Kaneki-kun, the ladies will only be two aisles away!"

Kaneki sighed, trying to relax once again. Occasionally he had to remind himself that Hinami wasn't a helpless baby- she knew enough not to wander off too far with someone. He glanced over to where the girls were. Hinami was tottering in a pair of heels as the other girl laughed and snapped away with her camera. They seemed to be having a good time already. Kaneki suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Hinami probably needed some time with another girl. Even though she always put on a cheerful face, it couldn't be too pleasant for her to only be stuck with so many men these days. Despite Tsukiyama's interest in flowers and fashion, even spending time with him probably just couldn't compare to some actual girl-time.

Kaneki wandered the shoe section as Tsukiyama chattered happily, shoving a box at the other man now and then, to which Kaneki usually gave a non-committal shrug. None of the selections looked very sound for fighting in. Unfortunately, each shrug seemed to be taken as a 'yes' and very soon, Tsukiyama was carrying a precariously teetering stack.

"Why don't you sit down and I'll help you try them on. We'll be just like Prince Charming and Cinderella!"

"I can tie my own shoe laces, thank you," Kaneki grumbled, while settling onto one of the benches anyway.

"Yes, I'm sure you can, but why should you have to when you have me here? Let people take care of you now and then," Tsukiyama said as he knelt down, tentatively grasping Kaneki's ankle in order to raise his foot. It was clear that he was assessing whether or not he was about to be kicked in the face. He seemed to realise that Kaneki wouldn't want to make a scene in the middle of a store and began to untie his right shoe, gently working it off the foot, then rolling the sock off starting at the ankle.

Kaneki's visible eye suddenly grew wide as fingers brushed the tips of his toes as the sock was dropped to the floor.

"That's enough!" he shouted, abruptly standing, kicking Tsukiyama's hand away. He snatched up his sock and shoe, then stormed out of the shoe section toward the doors.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Chapter three is actually 90% done so the wait should only be a few days. This was originally going to be only two chapters, but I found it was better to break them up.


	3. Noon

After Kaneki's abrupt exit from the store, Tsukiyama was left sitting on the floor, stunned for a moment, before straitening up and dusting off.

Kaneki put on such a brave front, it was at times easy to forget what had caused him to become this way. Of course there would be certain triggers that would cause flashbacks after the ordeal. Tsukiyama had been so eager to please and make him comfortable, so enthralled by the trust he had been gaining, that he had become thoughtless instead. Even though the current version of Kaneki was certainly enchanting, the events that had occurred to bring him to this state were truly atrocious. Allowing Kaneki to feel as safe and comfortable as possible should definitely remain a top priority.

Tsukiyama began to feel an itching of guilt wriggling its way around his head. Concepts such as 'remorse' and 'shame' had never quite crossed paths with his emotional repertoire until he had met Kaneki, but lately he had found himself becoming rapidly acquainted with them. He sincerely hoped that this misstep wouldn't color the entire rest of the afternoon. Kaneki didn't seem to be enjoying the shopping all that much to begin with, even though Tsukiyama had told him to pick out anything he pleased. Still, Prince Charming had tried the glass shoe on many other girls before he found his Cinderella, didn't he? One mistake couldn't be allowed to taint the entire day. _Calmato, calmato._

Finished his internal pep talk, he adjusted his tie, affected his best pleasant smile, and went over to collect the girls.

Chie had decided on a pair of cowboy boots for Hinami. Not at all what Tsukiyama would have picked, but the juxtaposition with the sundress did make for a bold statement. In addition to the box that the boots had come out of, three more boxes were placed into his arms.

"One is in case her feet get tired in those. The other two are for me. I've had these sneakers since high school! I think it's time for a change before they walk away on their own, you know?" Chie explained.

* * *

"Where's Onii-chan?" Hinami asked in concern as they headed for the door after checking out.

"He just stepped out for some air. I'm sure he's waiting for us." Tsukiyama hoped that he was not lying to the girl and that Kaneki hadn't headed for home without them.

Sure enough, Kaneki was outside, seated on a bench beside the door. He appeared to be intently inspecting his blackened finger nails. He had managed to get his shoe back on after all, but it was sloppily tied and there was no sock inside of it.

"Kaneki-kun?"

The boy started slightly as if he hadn't heard anyone coming.

"…I stole these clothes, didn't I?" he mused, looking up at Tsukiyama with an inscrutable expression.

"Non! All is well!" the man assured, "I explained to the cashier that you were not feeling well and had to leave, so she looked up the prices and I was able to pay for everything! Now, let us all continue our date, shall we?"

'All' included Chie as well, because after years of dealing with her, Tsukiyama knew that permission or no, the mouse would continue to scurry after them.

He had considered suggesting a bookstore as the next stop, usually a sure bet, especially considering that the book section at the department store had been too scant for both Kaneki and Hinami's tastes, but Kaneki was now walking so determinedly in front of the group, that the other man became quite curious as to where he was headed.

He began to slow in front of a shop window featuring a multitude of colorful crepes, before coming to a stop and turning to Chie.

"Do you like crepes?"

"Yeah, sure! Who doesn't?" She responded. It was difficult to tell if she was just being oblivious or taking a dig at present company.

Kaneki cocked his head toward Tsukiyama. "Have him buy you one. I think it's around lunch time. At least one of us should be able to enjoy eating something during this…whatever this is."

"A date," Tsukiyama reminded, absently shelling out the cash to Chie. It was clear that this was old hat for the two.

Hinami was pursing her lips, side-eyeing the crepes as if they may leap out of the case and attack at any moment.

"Would you like to help me pick one?" Chie asked.

The younger girl nodded determinedly and the two moved closer to the window, Hinami pointing to different deserts, and Chie describing the tastes in nearly nonsensical ways.

"What _do_ they taste like?" Tsukiyama asked with genuine curiosity, eyes still on the girls.

"What, little girls?" Kaneki retorted in a mutter, so as not to be overheard. The cashier seemed to be engrossed on her smart phone, and no other customers were around.

"I'm interested to know how crepes taste." Tsukiyama hoped that reminding Kaneki of his past wouldn't further upset him, but considering that coming to such a human place as this had been his idea in the first place, it seemed safe to take a gamble. He had always harbored a deep curiosity for human deserts. During a trip to Paris, he had become completely fascinated with the things. He even owned a collection of cookbooks on the subject. The colors and shapes were very appealing, especially since only so much could be done with human meat, at least visually speaking. "I've actually come to this shop before. Sometimes I just like to look at the deserts."

Well, that and the former shop girl had had _very_ dolce forearms, he reminded himself.

Kaneki thought for a moment before answering, "The ones with ice cream are very smooth and sweet inside, and the coldness kind of contrasts with the room-temperature pastry. Oh, the pastry is really thin and sort of like a pancake…"

Tsukiyama was so relieved that Kaneki no longer seemed to be phased by the earlier incident. Sometimes it was difficult to believe that someone as remarkable as Kaneki Ken would allow him at their side. It had been clear for quite a while now that Kaneki would not really kill him, save for the man seriously attempting to eat him again. He had merely received a scolding for kissing Hinami's cheek the other day; Kaneki hadn't even thrown him out of the apartment. Tsukiyama had slept in the chair while the other two slept on the couch, curled up like cats. Tsukiyama hadn't won full trust yet, but there was time. He hoped there was time. Yet, at the same time, he certainly not be unhappy if the way things were right now lasted for an eternity. Just being near this amazing person was something of its own reward. If perhaps someday in the future, he did ever get to taste Kaneki, well, it was becoming more and more difficult to imagine that flavor being more delicious than moments such as this.

"…and the bananas are kind of mushy, and not quite as sweet as some other fruits…" Kaneki was beginning to sound somewhat happier than he had moments ago and his face was slightly less gray now.

Tsukiyama tried to imagine some of the tastes and textures being illustrated, but it was difficult, having little frame of reference. He had at times, taken bites of human food, hoping for just some inkling of the texture, but the flavor had been so repugnant that the texture was easily overshadowed. Even so, the sound of Kaneki's voice was mesmerizing as the early afternoon sun beamed off of his white hair like a halo.

"Tsukiyama-san?" Kaneki fixed him with a stern expression. "Am I wasting my breath?"

"Hm? Why of course not!" Tsukiyama placed his finger tips against his chest as he spoke, "Your words conveyed the sensations so vividly, I felt like I was truly eating the crepe myself!"

What happened next happened so quickly and unexpectedly, that Tsukiyama wasn't sure that he could remember exactly how it went, as much as he wished that he could. The mixture of joy and confusion he felt, however, was something that would not soon leave him.

He'd like to think that Kaneki had grabbed onto the collar of his jacket, pulling him down, but maybe the boy had just stood on tiptoes. Either way, the man found his lips captured in a very fleeting kiss. Slightly chapped lips were on his, and then gone. He was fairly certain that the moment had concluded with Kaneki somewhat half-heartedly shoving him. Whatever had happened, Tsukiyama had definitely dropped the multitude of shopping bags he'd been holding.

"Ahh, Don't look, Hinami-chan!" Chie threw her free hand over the girl's eyes, as the two returned from their crepe shopping during that exact moment. The sweet held in Chie's other hand was the most gigantic one that the shop sold. It was most likely meant to feed a couple, rather than just one tiny person. She eyed the camera around her neck with a pout, but both hands were currently too occupied to use it.

"They do that all the time anyway," Hinami informed, unimpressed, as she removed Chie's hand from her face.

Tsukiyama didn't consider the kiss on the check from last night to be 'all the time', if that's what she meant. Tsukiyama imagined that he would have been the first to know if such an occurrence had happened before...

Kaneki was now wiping his sleeve across his mouth, eyes absently focused somewhere across the street, while Tsukiyama was left reeling. However brief the moment had been, Tsukiyama had still been able to taste a ghosting of the half ghoul's very distinct flavor. He brought a cautious finger tips to his own lips. It reminded him of…What was it that Kaneki had said about that one type of crepe…?

"I could tell you weren't listening, probably thinking about something gross, so I thought it was better to show you this way," Kaneki began to explain, still not looking at the other man. "I thought maybe you could still taste the things I've eaten in the past, if your tastes are as sensitive as you say…"

"Chocolate!" Tsukiyama interrupted with great enthusiasm. "Kaneki-kun, would you say that's how chocolate tastes?" He had been partially paying attention to part where Kaneki had explained particular the taste and scent of chocolate. It definitely sounded like the closest thing to Kaneki that he had heard of.

"How should I know? I'm not about to eat myself; I'm not a sicko like you." Kaneki turned and began briskly walking back the way they had came.

After collecting the spilled shopping bags, Tsukiyama was easily able to catch up given his longer legs. The girls seemed to have decided to give them some space and were walking a distance behind. Chie was somehow managing to operate her camera single-handedly while munching the crepe.

Tsukiyama was, needless to say, overjoyed as he trotted along beside Kaneki. Still, a small cloud of confusion spun about in his head. "Kaneki-kun, I thought that I had upset you before, at the store. I even forgot my manners and didn't apologize…"

Kaneki slowed a bit, keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead. "You don't need to apologize. What happened to me then is over and I'll never allow anything like it happen to me again. I thought it over, while I was waiting outside the store, and I realised that I don't think that you'd allow anything like that either. Besides, I think that I might have accidentally given you too much permission earlier, so something like this was bound to happen eventually," he explained, referring to kissing incident, "Maybe it was my turn to do something 'unnecessary' for a change, before you had the chance..."

"Kaneki-kun…" Tsukiyama grasped his arm, finally causing the small, light-haired man to look up at him. "Do you think that maybe, such a thing _could_ become 'necessary' one day?"

* * *

_Night and day... twelve o'clock had passed twice now, and the prince still remained. _

_It would seem that in this story, it was the prince who granted the wishes...For this chapter, at least… But eventually it will become necessary for the page to turn once again, won't it?_

_The end_

* * *

Thank you so much for reading and leaving such sweet comments! I definitely plan to bring you more Shuunekis in the future! BTW, the kiss was added at the request of reviewer Blood tinted rain. Sorry it was so quick, but I hope you enjoyed it a little anyway!


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